A sustainable alternative to current epoxy resin matrices for vacuum infusion molding

Biobased diglycidyl ethers of diphenolate (DGEDP) and monoglycidyl ether of eugenol (GE) were synthesized and formulated as new type of biobased epoxy resins for vacuum infusion processing with glass fiber mats. The processability of these new biobased formulations were benchmarked against two diglycidyl ether bisphenol A (DGEBA) petroleum based resins. Compositions with 15 wt% GE and 85 wt% of either DGEDP-ethyl or pentyl esters resulted in suitably viscosity and gelation time for composite vacuum infusion processing whilst maintaining and in some cases exceeding the mechanical and thermal properties of the petroleum based systems. This work indicates the excellent potential of using biobased epoxy resins as sustainable alternatives to the traditional petroleum based epoxy resins for engineering applications.